Besian Kutleshi had a night he will never forget on Tuesday, making his professional debut for Western United in the Australia Cup Round of 32 clash against Sydney FC at Ironbark Fields.
At 16 years 151 days old, Kutleshi became the Club’s youngest-ever debutant in a competitive fixture, surpassing Dylan Leonard (17 years 51 days) in the men’s side and Avaani Prakash (16 years 327 days) for the entire Club.
Having been a star performer at centre-back under Andreas Papanicolaou in the VPL 1 Men this season, Kutleshi was entrusted with the right-back position by John Aloisi against the Sky Blues.
Not only did Kutleshi simply make his senior bow, but the youngster emerged as one of the best players on the pitch in an incredible display.
The youngster had the joint most tackles (four) and ground duels won (seven) across the 90 minutes, standing up superbly to the physicality and athleticism of Patrick Wood – normally a centre forward – who was deployed on the left wing for Sydney.
It wasn’t just defensively, too, as Kutleshi found the opportunities to get forward down the flank. His two completed dribbles were a team-high for Western United, including one superb run towards the end of the first half.
Playing beyond his years, Kutleshi’s performance and determination was typified by his final action on the pitch.
Nursing a cramp from some minutes earlier, Kutleshi wasn’t to be stopped as he flew into another brilliant sliding challenge before getting up and setting United up in attack.
Khoder Kaddour eventually came on in his place for the final minutes of stoppage time, allowing Kutleshi to take in the ovation from the United fans and from a strong contingent of family and friends who were in full voice all night.
Kutleshi’s performance highlighted a night full of amazing stories for young talents in the Western United ranks.
Among the starting line-up were six players that have developed in the Western United Academy, with Kutleshi alongside them having starred at VPL 1 level this season.
An additional six out of the seven substitutes also came directly out of the Academy, including 17-year-old striker Tobias Servin who was named in
Kutleshi was also one of four United youngsters – all aged 20 or younger – in the starting line-up who had progressed from junior clubs in the west.
Overall, the average age of 22.8 years in the starting line-up was the youngest in Western United’s history.
While the result ultimately didn’t fall the Green and Black’s way, the performance of the young Western United side offers a thrilling glimpse into the future at Ironbark Fields.
